Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to a system for storing and containing cooking oils and greases and, in particular, concerns a system that allows for filtration and storage of used cooking grease and oil in a single container.
Description of the Related Art
Cooking in oil is a very common form of cooking in the restaurant trade. All fried food, including French fries and other staples of diners and fast food restaurants, are typically cooked in a fryer which contains heated cooking oil. As the oil is used, food particles often become entrained in the oil. These particles can spoil the oil which can make the used oil unsanitary and can make later-cooked items taste bad. Consequently, cooking oil must periodically be cleaned (e.g., filtered) or replaced to avoid spoiling the oil and adversely affecting the taste of food cooked in the oil.
Generally, in larger restaurants, used oil is contained in a large, movable container. Used cooking oil unfit for reuse in the fryers often must be transported off of the site of the restaurant. Used cooking oil can be a valuable component suitable for recycling or reuse into other applications (e.g., for use in biodiesel engines). Further, cooking oil typically cannot be disposed of in the sewer system. Not only can the oil be harmful to the environment, it can also clog the sewer system.
However, one difficulty that restaurants experience is that there is a limited amount of space available for both filtration systems and storage containers for used and new cooking oil. Restaurant kitchens are often crowded spaces that require work surfaces and storage surfaces for use in the preparation and storage of the food being served in the restaurant. As such, many restaurants do not have sufficient space to efficiently handle filtration systems and storage systems in addition to deep fryers. Storing filtration systems and storage systems outside of the kitchen can lead to sanitation issues when those systems are transported into the kitchen.
Additionally, the filtration and storage of used cooking oil can be a messy and difficult process to complete within the confines of a restaurant kitchen. In many cases, filtering and disposing of or reusing the oil involves moving and/or lifting containers of oil. Moving and lifting of the containers can lead to spills of the oil. Oil spills in the kitchen can be both messy and dangerous, as there is a risk that restaurant employees and others could slip and fall. Additionally, moving and lifting the containers of oil can lead to injury due to the sheer weight of the oil.
A further difficulty is keeping track of the oil and knowing when to have the oil changed and filtered. Typically, oil can be used for a limited period of time. Once the oil is used for an excessive period of time, the oil can become tainted which affects the quality of the food being produced with the oil. Existing oil filtration and storage systems do not adequately keep track of the amount of oil that has been filtered or used nor whether the oil has been changed recently. These systems also do not advise the collection service when the oil needs to be collected, consequently, used oil may remain uncollected which can clutter up limited space in restaurants and present a tempting target for theft.
Further, kitchen personnel are often not full-time employees who are continuously monitoring the oil that is being used and consumed. Additionally, kitchen personnel are also often not well trained to detect when oil should be replaced. Consequently, there is an on-going problem of keeping track of the status of the oil.
Yet a further difficulty that occurs is that since the used cooking oil is a valuable commodity, it is the subject of theft. Typically, a restaurant contracts with an oil collection service to removed used cooking oil. However, unscrupulous oil collectors can show up at the restaurant purporting to be the oil collection service and take the existing used oil. The kitchen staff may not be able to detect whether the oil collectors are from the contracted service and the contracted service is not on the site of the restaurant so the contracted service has no reason to know that the oil is either ready to collection or that others are attempting to collect the oil illegally.
Hence, there is a need for a cooking oil filtration and storage system that more efficiently uses the space available in a restaurant kitchen and also allows for better management of the filtration storage and replacement of used oil. To this end, there is a need for a system that can extract oil from the deep fryer for both storage and filtration purposes while fitting within the confines of a restaurant kitchen and can intelligently monitor the status of the oil and communicate this status to others.